Boat steering apparatus



June 20, 1961 E. MCMURRAY ET AL 2,988,930

BOAT STEERING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 6, 1959 git.

A TTORNEVS Conn.

Filed Nov. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 851,369 3 Claims. (Cl. 74-512) Thisinvention relates to boat steering apparatus and, more particularly, tofoot operable steering apparatus for a small boat having pivotallysupported tiller means such as an outboard motor on its stern.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a steeringapparatus which is adapted for use with a small boat equipped with apivotally supported tiller means such as an outboard motor and which maybe operated by an occupant of the boat with foot pressure alone leavingthe hands of the occupant free for manipulation of a fishing rod or thelike.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide foot operable boatsteering apparatus of the type mentioned which may be locked in positionto provide for automatic straight ahead steering without manipulation byeither the hands or feet of an occupant of the boat.

The drawing shows a preferred embodiment of the invention and suchembodiment will be described, but it will be understood that variouschanges may be made from the construction disclosed, and that thedrawing and description are not to be construed as defining or limitingthe scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of thisspecification being relied upon for that purpose.

Of the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a boat equipped with an outboard motor and steeringapparatus constructed in accordance with the invention, the motor andapparatus being in position for a right-hand turn of the boat.

FIG. 2 is similar ot FIG. 1 but with the motor and steering apparatus inposition for straight ahead steermg.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, but shows the motor and steeringapparatus in position for a left-hand turn of the boat.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged showing of a clamp and an upper part of apivotally supported lever forming a portion of the steering apparatus ofthe invention.

The foot operable steering apparatus of the invention may be employed inany small boat which is adapted to be steered by turning a pivotallysupported'tiller means on its stem from side to side. The tiller meansmay take various forms, but in most applications will comprise apivotally mounted outboard motor which can be utilized to both propeland steer the boat. In general, the steering apparatus comprises anelastic biasing means which is secured to the boat and to the motor orother tiller means and which tends to pivot the, same toward one side ofthe boat. A control cable is secured to the motor and engages a guidesecured to the boat in such manner that at least a portion of the cableextends from the motor toward the opposite side of the boat. The controlcable is connected to a pivotally supported lever adapted to be pivotedin one direction by foot pressure exerted by an occupant of the boat.When so pivoted, the lever pulls theicontrol cable so as to pull themotor about its pivot toward the said opposite side of the boat againstthe 7 ably secured to the bail 18 of the outboard motor.

Patented June 20, 1961 urging of the aforesaid biasing means. When footpressure on the lever is released, the biasing means operates to pivotthe motor toward said one side of the boat pulling the control cable andpivoting the foot lever in an opposite direction. Thus, by manipulationof the lever, the motor may be turned about its pivot as required tosteer the boat on a desired course. Straight ahead steering may beautomatically accomplished by means of a releasable 'latch which limitsthe pivotal movement of the foot lever so as to hold the motor in acentral or straight ahead position against the urging of the elasticbiasing means.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3, it willbe observed that a boat 10 is partially shown therein and is equippedwith an outboard motor 12 of a conventional type. The motor 12 isattached to the backboard or transom 14 of the boat 10 by means of aconveniental clamping device 16 and may be pivoted bodily from side toside for steering the boat. The motor 12 has a U-shaped bracket or bail18 and is provided with the usual steering handle or tiller, but thelatter element is preferably pivoted upwardly and rearwardly so as to bedisposed behind the body of the motor as the latter is illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawing.

The above-mentioned elastic biasing means may take various forms withinthe scope of the invention. Preferably and as shown, said meanscomprises an elastic cable 20 which may be formed of rubber with afabric or plastic covering. The elastic biasing cable 20 is secured atone end to a small bracket 22 which is in turn detach- Obviously, in thealternative the said cable may be secured to the steering handle ortiller when the motor has no bail or other convenient attaching meansseparate from the bandle. At its opposite end, the elastic cable 20 issecured to the boat on one side of the motor 12 so as to be continuouslyin tension. Preferably and as shown, the cable 20 is connected at itsopposite end to a quick acting C-cl-amp 24 and engages a guide 26 whichmay be a swivel pulley. The C-clamp 24 is secured to the upper edgeportion of one sideboard or gunnel 28 of the boat and the pulley 26 issecured to the boat in the corner formed by the said one sideboard orgunnel and the backboard or transom 14. It will be apparent that theelastic cable 20 tends to pivot the outboard motor 12 toward the saidone side of the boat and the position shown in FIG. 1 wherein aright-hand turn of the boat is eifected.

The aforementioned control cable preferably comprises a flexible cable30 which is substantially inelastic lengthwise. Thesaid cable is shownsecured at one end to the bracket 22 mounted on the bail 18, but mayobviously be secured to a steering handle or tiller in the alternative.The cable 30 engages a guide which may take the form of a swivel pulley32 secured to the boat at the corner joining the transom or backboard 14with a sideboard or gunnel 34 disposed opposite the sideboard or gunnel28.

Preferably, the aforementioned pivotally supported lever comprises agenerally vertical lever 36 having its upper end pivotally supported ona O-clamp 38 and its lower end adjustably attached to the opposite endof the control cable 30. As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the lever 36 isshown entered adjacent its upper end in a secondary clamp member 40which has a bore 42 which extends substantially horizontally andreceives a pivot pin 44 formed integrally on the G-clamp 38. The clampmember 40 has a binder screw 41 which may be tightened to hold the lever36 in selected vertical positions appropriate for boats of variousdepths on which the apparatus may be mounted. The C-clamp 38 ispreferably of a quick acting type and may be secured in variouslocations on the boats sideboards or backboard, but is preferablysecured to an upper edge portion of the backboard of transom 14 on thesame side of the motor as the elastic biasing cable 20.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the lever 36 may be pivotedabout the pin 44 by foot pressure exerted on a laterally extendingstirrup or arm 46 provided at its lower end portion. That is, the lever36 may be pivoted in one direction (counterclockwise in the drawing) byfoot pressure to pull the control cable 30 and thus pull the outboardmotor 12 about its pivot against the bias of the elastic cable 20.Release of foot pressure on the arm 46 will result in movement of themotor 12 about its pivot at the urging of the elastic cable 20 and inpivotal movement of the lever 36 in a clockwise direction. Thus, anoccupant of the boat may sit on the side of the boat adjacent thecontrol cable 30 and the pulley 32 on an appropriate seat (not shown)and manipulate the lever 36 conveniently with his left foot. If aright-hand turn is desired, release of foot pressure or only a minimumof foot pressure is required to hold the motor in the position shown inFIG. 1 and to thus effect the desired turn. If a straight ahead courseis desired slight additional foot pressure is applied to the arm 46 tomove the lever 36 to a vertical position and thus move the motor to acentral or straight ahead position as shown in FIG. 2. A left-hand turnmay obviously be accomplished by exerting sufi'icient foot pressure topivot the lever 36 to a position such as that shown in FIG. 3.

In accordance with the presently preferred practice, the control cable30 and the foot lever 36 are constructed and arranged so that the motor12 is positioned in a central or straight ahead position for straightahead steering of the boat when the lever 36 is vertical as illustratedin FIG. 2. Thus, automatic straight ahead steering may be provided forby locking said lever in the vertical position. Further, the motor maybe conveniently started when held in a straight ahead position. Inaccordance with the invention, a releasable latch 48 is provided for solocking the lever 36 and said latch is preferably supported on the clamp38 which supports the lever 36.

As shown, the latch 48 is mounted on a pin 50 for free pivotal movementin a substantially vertical plane. A lug 52 formed on the journal member40 engages the latch 48 when the latter is in an upper position as shownin FIG. 4 and limits the pivotal movement of the lever 36 in theclockwise direction with the said lever in a vertical position asillustrated in FIG. 2. Thus, with the latch 48 held in the upperposition as shown, the occupant of the boat may remove his foot from thearm 46 or release pressure thereon allowing the biasing cable 20 topivot the motor 12, pull the control cable 30, and pivot the lever 36until the lug 52 engages the latch 48. The latch 48 will thereupon beheld in its upper position by frictional forces between the same and thelug 52 induced by the force exerted by the biasing cable and the boatwill follow a straight ahead course without further manipulation of thesteering apparatus. To release the latch 48, only a slight foot pressureon the lever 38 tending to pivot the same in a counterclockwisedirection is needed. This will result in a loss of the frictional forcesbetween the latch 48 and the lug 52 and the latch will automaticallyfall at the urging of gravity to a second position illustrated in brokenline form in FIG. 4. In this position of the latch 48, the lug 52 willpass freely thereabove during clockwise pivotal movement of the lever 36past the central or vertical position.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a foot operable boatsteering apparatus has been provided which is inexpensive and easilymanufactured. The apparatus may be readily installed on a number oftypes of small boats equipped with a variety of outboard motors or othertiller means without special skill or tools. The apparatus will notinterfere with normal hand steering as by means of the steering handleor tiller on an outboard motor or said other tiller means. The pulleys24 and 32 and the bracket 22 may obviously be of a quick connect andquick disconnect type so that the apparatus can be conveniently attachedto and detached from the boat. Finally, a simple and yet highlyeffective releasable latching device has been provided whereby automaticstraight ahead steering may be accomplished in a convenient and yetdependable manner. The hand of an occupant of the boat is necessarily orat least desirably utilized in holding the latch in its upper positionfor engagement, but it may be disengaged or released quite convenientlywith only a sli ht foot pressure as described.

The invention claimed is:

1. A foot operable steering apparatus for a small boat having tillermeans pivotally supported on its stern, the said apparatus comprisingbiasing means tending to pivot the tiller means toward one side of theboat, mechanism connected with the tiller means and adapted to beoperated by foot pressure to pivot said tiller means toward the oppositeside of the boat in opposition to said biasing means, and a releasablelatch means operatively connected with said mechanism and adapted tolimit pivotal movement of said tiller means toward said one side of theboat so as to provide for automatic straight ahead steering, said latchmeans being constructed and arranged so as to be held in latchingposition with respect to said mechanism by force exerted by said biasingmeans and so as to automatically move out of such latching position atthe urging of gravity when said mechanism is operated to pivot saidtiller means toward the opposite side of the boat.

2. A foot operable steering apparatus for a small boat having tillermeans pivotally supported on its stern, the said apparatus comprising anelastic biasing cable secured in tension between the tiller means andthe boat on one side of the tiller means, a cable guide secured to theboat on the opposite side of the tiller means, a control cable engagedwith said guide and secured at one end to the tiller means, a pivotallysupported lever connected with the other end of said control cable andadapted to be pivoted in one direction by foot pressure to pull saidcontrol cable in one direction and thereby pull said tiller means in onedirection about its pivot against the urging of said elastic cable, saidelastic cable being operable on release of foot pressure on said leverto pull said tiller means and control cable in an opposite direction andpivot said lever in an opposite direction, and a releasable latchoperatively associated with said lever and adapted to limit pivotalmovement thereof in said opposite direction and thus limit pivotalmovement of the tiller means in said opposite direction so as to providefor automatic straight ahead steering, said latch being constructed andarranged so as to be held in latching position with respect to saidlever by the biasing force exerted by said elastic cable and so as toautomatically move out of such latching position at the urging ofgravity when said lever is pivoted in said one direction.

3. A foot operable steering apparatus for a small boat having anoutboard motor pivotally mounted on its transom for steering, the saidapparatus comprising an elastic biasing cable secured in tension betweenthe outboard motor and the boat on one side of the motor, a cable guidesecured to the boat on the opposite side of the motor, a control cableengaged with said guide and secured at one end to the motor, a clampsecured to the upper edge portion of the transom of the boat on said oneside of the motor, a generally vertical lever pivotally connected at itsupper end to said clamp and having the other end of said control cableconnected thereto at its lower end portion, a laterally extending arm onthe lower end portion of said lever adapted to be engaged and subjectedto pressure by the foot of an occupant of the boat to pivot the lever inone direction whereby to pull said control cable in one direction and topull said motor in one direction about its pivot against the urging ofsaid elastic cable, said elastic cable being operable on release of footpressure on said lever arm to pull said motor' and control cable in anopposite direction and pivot said lever in an opposite direction, andsaid control cable and lever being constructed and arranged so that saidmotor is positioned for straight ahead steering when said lever is in, avertical position, a latch mounted on said clamp for free pivotalmovement from an upper to a lower position ina substantially verticalplane, and a lug on an upper portion of said lever adapted to engagesaid latch in its upper position and limit pivotal movement of saidlever in said opposite direction with said lever in a vertical position,said lug and latch being constructed and arranged so that they areReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS352,512 Bodecker Nov. 16, 1886 827,969 Gardner et al. Aug. 7, 19061,134,261 Gibson Apr. 6, 1915 1,451,452 Williams Apr. 10, 1923 2,688,299Gload et a1. Sept. 7, 1954 2,726,622 Daniels Dec. 13, 1955 2,912,877Rohrer Nov. 17, 1959 2,947,193 Guernsey Aug. 2, 1960

